Arica I Shalmanesar
 Artist's Rendition | |
| Arica I Shalmanesar APC | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 3 |
| Length | 8.7 m |
| Width | 3.57 m |
| Height | 2.3 m |
| Weight | 51 t |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | Composite |
| Main armament | 35mm Chaingun |
| Secondary armament | 2x portmounted 7.92mm machineguns 2x anti-tank guided missiles |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | Q-300-J Quasiturbine Diesel 1200bhp |
| Suspension | Tortion Bar |
| Road speed | 76 km/h |
| Power/weight | 23.5 hp/h |
| Range | 620 km |
The project found its beginnings in 2013, three years prior to the War of Golden Succession, in the form of minor dabblings into the realm of armoured personnel carriers and such by a team of Kriegzimmer engineers and Mekugian mechanics. Through then and 2015, the 'project' designed and introduced a series of theoritical possibilities for a replacement to the SOV-6 Infantry Fighting Vehicle that had been outclassed since its introduction, since the original intent of the vehicle was as a heavy siege vehicle for national special weapons and tactics forces. However, no design was truly capable enough to be considered a practical replacement, and no design that could be considered a replacement was within the restrictions of Mekugian design aesthetics, meaning by the end of 2015 the two nations had still failed to progress further in the design of a new armoured personnel carrier. Fortunately, in early 2016 all viable solutions were merged into a single design, and after undergoing three months of intense 'runs through the gauntlet', and a final two months of pure testing, ending in another month of final theoritics, the first proper prototype of the end product rolled off the line on 23 September, 2016, and the consequent Shalmaneser began mass production on 1 October.
The name Shalmaneser stems from the namesake of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser II. Heir to a kingdom plagued by a rebellion led by Shattuara II of Hanigalbat, he hammered the Mitanni rebellion, and their Hittite allies, and then claimed to blind fourteen thousand men. In his lifetime and according to the tablets, he laid waste to nine fortresses and one hundred eighty cities. Like its namesake king, the Shalmanesar Armoured Personnel Carrier provides a well formed fist on the battlefield.
The design offers a blend between the infantry fighting vehicle and the armoured personnel vehicle, keeping the latter's high personnel carrying capacities, and offering the former's firepower - to a certain extent. The Shalmaneser was never designed to stand up to heavier armoured designs, but it could most certainly hold its own against an enemy armoured personnel carrier or even an infantry fighting vehicle, providing the infantry within it a safe ferry to the battlefield, and allowing for simpler mechanization, especially in the form of logistics. The justification for the latter being, the Ejermacht, or foreign equivalents, does not need to field two or more designs for different roles when it can field the Shalmaneser, regardless of its lesser qualities in specific areas. Nonetheless, this does not mean the Ejermacht was looked into different variants. Nonetheless, users of the design have returned with very positive feedback to Kriegzimmer.
The Shalmanesar saw its first combat in the War of Golden Succession in October 2016 against Havenite [SafeHaven2] forces in northern Haven and southern Ruska. It made its debut in combat in the Battle of Ishme-Dagan, one of the largest tank battles in history, with over fifteen thousand armoured vehicles participating in the slaughter, both Mekugian and Macabee. The Shalmanesar failed to preform well, simply due to the high cocentration of heavier armour, and did even worse in situations in which the battle was 'layered', and confused. Nonetheless, in infantry only portions of the battle it did splendidly, marking its success in the situations it was originally built for. In the end, it's suspected that the Arica I will mirror the lifespan of what it's replacing, the SOV-6, and perhaps extend to even more than that.
Armament
Both the Macabee and Mekugian version of the vehicle equip a 35mm chaingun as the primary armament, feeding off four modular ammunition bins within and under the turret. The gun features a dilutable coolant, first introduced by Shell for manufacturing purposes, which enables the chaingun an outstanding rate of eight hundred rounds per minute, although there are little viable reasons why the gunner would reach such a rate. Nevertheless, if the gun's ammunition is swapped for minor depleted uranium sabots [albeit, with a smaller storage number], it is said that it can penetrate the top armour of light and medium tanks if enough rounds are expended accurately on the side, rear or top armour. This failed to be proven at Ishme-Dagan, but there was not a very large contingent of armour that fitted the requires of being medium or light, which may attribute to the fact. Regardless, the Arica I is certainly not undergunned in any way, shape, or form.
Sometimes, the Mekugian field version can be seen with a larger turret and a 40mm ACP cannon. The export and Ausfva. A versions, however, remain with the 35mm chaingun as their primary armament.
Secondary armament manifests itself in the form of two machineguns mounts, crewed by the personnel of a squad riding in the back, fitted into two advance firing ports. The Advanced Firing Ports (AFP’s) are built into the armored hide of the Shalmanesar. The traverse and elevation are somewhat limited, but only just slightly allowing for a wide defensive fire arc to be laid down for debussing and in transit units. The AFP’s true ‘advanced’ feature is the addition of a spent round collector, which unlike the brass bags used by other countries spent rounds are collect and transferred out of the port to a exit point below the vehicle allowing for uninterrupted fining without covering the floor (and surrounding infantry) with hot brass. An integral ventilation system draws away any additional gasses from the gun preventing a ‘smoke-up’ of the fighting compartment, and keeping the weapon cooler without adding a complex system, or forcing changes to be made to the gun itself.
The gun ports can be opened to narrow or large size to accommodate different gun sizes, so that fragmentation cannot enter the cabin via the gun ports. The rotating gun port doors are lockable to prevent opening or enlarging the aperture from outside. The gun is aligned using a small clip which holds it in a pintle mount, offering very good handle on the design. Vertical stabilization and recoil attenuation as can be found on many vehicle mounted weapons allow for comfortable and accurate firing while on the move, yet allows for the weapon to be quickly removed for field use without comprising the systems capabilities in or out of the vehicle.
Additional secondary armaments include the VAPS system on the non-export version meant exclusively for the Empire and Mekugi, or a multi-barreled grenade launcher in its place - both offering an excellent fire suppression device for nearby infantry and trenchlines. Finally, the Shalmanesar has two anti-tank guided missiles in a launcher on the right side of the turret of the main gun, offering another possible solution against heavier armour designs, such as main battle tanks.
Armour
The lower layer of the armour is formed of a 300mm plate of ceramic armour, which is fully modular and made out of light ceramics and alloys. This offers the design an excellent defense against high velocity impacts from kinetic energy weapons, including armour piercing fin stabilized discarding sabots. The armour is considerably lighter than its counterpart used on the Leopard A6, and variant E [Spain's self designed variant of the Leopard A6], but it also offers lesser protection against KE threats; nonetheless, the version featured on the Arica I provides enough to protect against anything save a main battle tank and some high velocity medium tank guns. This is layered with a soft insulation on the top to avoid cracking and stress due to the expansion of the top layer.
This top layer is formed of either modular expandable armour system, or an enhanced appliqué armour kit, depending on the customer and weight prerequisites. Although the MEXAS offers greater ratings, the EAAK is also much, much lighter - each offers its own distinct advantages. Regardless of which used, the entire armour system offers very fine protection against both kinetic energy threads and chemical energy threats, making it viable for the vehicle to complete the tasks it was designed for.
Optionally, sometimes witnessed on Mekugian tanks, the MEXAS is covered by an anti-spalling layer which is capped off by a minor ceramic appliqué, which offers minor protection against chemical energy threats. On top of this, hexagons of captive explosive reactive armour are placed on slats, making the CERA largely appliqué as well. Other times, the CERA replaces the MEXAS altogether. The exact composition of the Ausfva. B remains classified within the Mekugian military.
Engine
The Shalmanesar is powered by the Q-300-J, although the Mekugian design might employ it's own engine for preference and logistical purposes. Nonetheless, it's safe to say that the Shalmanesar relies on one thousand two hundred break horsepower, meaning, what is not lost on ignition and through the propulsion of the shaft. The outer encasement is made out of a tough, but flexible, titanium based superalloy, while several turbine components are manufactured out of ceramic. The engine has three major subcomponents throughout the Arica I, including a 200v battery in the turret, and two 125v batteries in the back. And of course, all ot her minor subcomponents. Although the engine is rather large for the weight, especially considering that the Shalmanesar does not feel the requirement of ultramodern MBTs in having overly large engines to allow for greater velocities, the engine does serve the purpose to deal with crew accomodations, specified below.
The transmission offers a dual stick, group and gear, transmission with a total of twenty-four gears, including three groups and six foward gears and two rear gears. The drivetrain is fully electromagnetic, allowing for almost a greater conservation of energy, which in turn maximizes the effeciency of the engine. The drivetrain was also featured in the Arca. I Cougar.
Rear Accomodation
The personnel being ferried by the APC are amongst the most important parts of the APC. For them the Shalmanesar and other variants boast of a very well designed accomodation system to best serve the cabin. In fact, in testing and in combat personnel carried often claim that the best ride they've had was on the Arica. For one, seating is divided by a series of cushioned 'chairs' whie lie on the floor to take as little space as possible, providing comfortable seating. The seats are springed for bumps, and avoid having the men in the back jolt around, while they also have reduced pitch input, allowing them to absorb shock. The two machinegunners are not seated, and instead are harnessed into place to avoid rabid moving, and two kneepads cushioned for them to kneel on, as well as a foward footpad in both cases for the soldier to rest a leg, if need be. The ground is reinforced, allowing soldiers to point their guns down so that if a rifle is accidently fired it will penetrate the bottom armour and stay there without fear of the shot ricocheting. The APC is air conditioned both for the crew and what is being carried, while there is a temporary water dispeser so that soldiers need not use the little water they carry for missions.
Although many believe all of this luxury as just that, and extraneous, it has been tested before that better preforming soldiers are those that are more relaxed before entering combat. History in design has proved it; in fact, one of the faults attributed to early Soviet armoured design was crew conditions, especially crampness, which reduced lethality of Soviet armour. Although not necessarilly within the same context, the same can be said for the soldier within the APC. Not only that, but the 'luxury' comes at relatively little cost, as opposed to the huge cost of the armour, turret and armament. Therefore, it is just a minor way to pay soldiers for the duties they have done.
For this, the Shalmaneser has been called the 'Cruise Liner' by many Macabee soldiers, on the field. Automobile magazines have also awarded it as the most confortable all terrain vehicle design on the public market. But for all the satire, the Shalmanesar cedes the point and is proud of it.
The soldiers are let out through a rear hatch which is a ramp door, offering an easy unloading process. The rear hatch, to avoid lightening the armour load on it, is powered through an extremely powerful set of electrical mechanics, which is one of the major things that warrants such a large engine in use for the APC, when something of 800 bhp would have done perfectly. For emergency dismounting there are two roof mounted hatches.
Sensor Equipment
Sensor equipments include a foward-looking infrared [FLIR] rangefinder for close range engagement accuracy; especially since most engagements will be from close range, given the armament. On top of the minor turret there is a minor short-range, short-wave, radome for near complete radar coverage for up to eleven thousand meters, although expected usage is two thousand meters and less. There is also a laser radar [ladar] transmitter independence from the main array to further guide the ATGMs, while and independent transmitter is for the tank in general. Two side looking miniature LIDAR guassian transmitters aid in target and foe indentification.
The fire and control system is based on the larger Cornerstone program. The program is able to receive, condense, and process information from all sensor systems simultanuously, and thus offer a host of possible targets on a black background liquid matrix display screen for both the gunner and the commander [two seperate screens]. The Arica I can have up to eleven targets for possible engagement, and once one is deemed appropriately knocked out a new target is processed into the system.
